Reciprocating the gesture, PM Narendra Modi presented Chinese President Xi Jinping with the reprints of two paintings made by Xu Beihong, a famous Chinese artist during his stay at Santiniketan between 1939 and 1940.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping visit the Hubei Museum in Wuhan, China on April 27, 2018. (Photo by the Ministry of External Affairs)

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New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping’s informal two-day summit in Wuhan, capital of China’s Hubei Province, has been peppered with light moments and cultural symbolism.

On Saturday, the PM was accorded a grand reception by Xi at the Hubei Provincial Museum, where the two leaders held the first of their six meetings during the unprecedented ‘heart-to-heart’ summit. A traditional performance depicting the music of Hubei was the highlight of the red carper welcome accorded to the PM.

PM @narendramodi was welcomed at the Hubei Provincial Museum with an impressive cultural performance. India and China cultural connect go back many centuries and is reflected in present times through the popularity of Bollywood, Yoga and other aspects of Indian culture. pic.twitter.com/UfdYQPQknw

Following their museum visit, PM Modi presented to Xi the reprints of two paintings made by Xu Beihong, a famous Chinese artist during his stay at Santiniketan between 1939 and 1940.

Xu was known for his Chinese ink paintings of horses and birds. He was one of the first Chinese artists to articulate the need for artistic expressions that reflected a modern China at the beginning of the 20th century. The paintings depicted a horse and sparrows on grass.